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Couple busted with $4.1M worth of meth near Mesquite

Earlier bust for $1M worth of meth in Arizona
Posted at 9:42 AM, Jan 28, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-28 15:02:17-05

The largest meth bust in the history of Arizona happened on Jan. 24 after a traffic stop on Interstate 15 just south of Littlefield.

A trooper with the Arizona Department of Public Safety made the initial stop and requested assistance from the Mohave County Sheriff's Office.

They discovered 362 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $4.1 million.

The driver and passenger, wife and husband, were identified as 52-year-old Julie Jeannie Mason of Burlington, Iowa, and 38-year-old Maurius Montez Mason of Peoria, Illinois. They were arrested for possession of a dangerous drug and transportation of a dangerous drug. The suspects were booked into the detention center in Mesquite.

Earlier the same day, a trooper working in the Casa Grande area stopped a vehicle on Interstate 10 near McCartney Road. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, the trooper located 88 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $998,000.

The driver and passenger, identified as 26-year-old Roxana Juarez and 22-year-old Jesus Valenzuela of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, were arrested for possession of a dangerous drug. The suspects were booked into the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Jail in Florence.